Ranau: Sekolah Kebangsaan Paginatan Ranau was forced to be closed for 10 days beginning Thursday due to the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) outbreak, which has so far infected five students in the school.District Chief Education Officer Siti Hamne Hashim confirmed that the school was the first in Ranau that had to be closed due to the epidemic.

"The HFMD outbreak was initially detected at the school on July 26 where one of the Year 1 pupils was diagnosed with the disease. This was followed by a second case on Aug 3, where two more students in Year 1 and Year 4, were infected.

"When we were informed that two Year 1 students are confirmed to have HFMD on Aug 7, we had no choice but to close the school starting today (Thursday)," she explained.

According to Siti, the decision was made immediately to prevent other students from being infected with the epidemic, and also to prevent the disease from spreading to other areas or schools.

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Meanwhile, she advised all parties to take preventive measures to ensure that the epidemic would not infect any other children in the district.

"All parents are required to monitor and ensure hygiene practices among children.

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Always monitor the health of children. If there is any sign of HFMD, get treatment and rest them at home until they are really healthy.

"Teachers in other schools in the district are also required to conduct health screening on all students early in the morning and always remind students of hygiene practices," she explained. - Clarence George Dol